


Starlight Against Night Skies

by punkerbones



Category: Transformers
Genre: F/M, TFOC - Freeform, Transformers - Freeform, maccadam - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 10:44:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9381092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkerbones/pseuds/punkerbones
Summary: For the wonderfulCavalierConvoyfeaturing Trailcutter and her super interesting OC Artemis. Was a lot of fun writing for these two, especially since it’s a nice little bit of romantic downtime for the two.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CavalierConvoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavalierConvoy/gifts).



Ventilating a short sigh, Trailcutter stared at the high-grade he was slowly swirling around in his glass. The faint glow was barely visible in the low lighting of the bar, but the outlier’s thoughts were elsewhere. His date was late. At least, he hoped she was just late and not going to have to cancel. It would be the third time in a row that one of them had had to cancel a date, and Trailcutter was about to decide that the stars had aligned to-

“This still qualifies as fashionably late, right?”

Artemis’s voice made Trailcutter immediately snap out of his thoughts, and he looked up quickly. The blue femme was standing in front of him from across the table, a knowing smirk playing on her features. Her hands were lightly set on her hips, and a gleam in her optics that Trailcutter swore was brighter than any starlight he’d ever seen.

“Of course it does,” he chuckled, straightening his posture and setting aside his drink. “Don’t think you could be anything else.”

When Artemis quirked a helm ridge, the outlier immediately recognized his verbal faux pas, and promptly tried to correct it.

“I mean, you could also be on time, which would be good, too, but you’re never late late. Just, if you are late, it’s only...fashionably late,” he explained hurriedly, ending with the most convincing grin he could muster.

The fact that Artemis laughed and shook her helm, while waving a hand to wordlessly stop Trailcutter from trying to continue. She glanced at the outlier, then his drink, before sitting down in the empty chair that Trailcutter had been saving for her.

“I appreciate the endorsement,” she replied teasingly. “However, I’m fashionably late thanks to a malfunctioning lift and a repair mech who was quite cranky that they had to be called to fix said lift. I ended up just taking the stairs for about two floors before the lift was repaired.”

“Jeez. He runs late so everybody else does,” Trailcutter grumbled as he took another sip of the high-grade he’d ordered.

“Yeah. Oh well, made it, didn’t I? Third time’s the charm and all that?”

Artemis’s smile was enough to make Trailcutter grin, and he nodded in affirmation. Watching as she ordered her own drink, the outlier began to mull over the idea of taking their date night somewhere else. While the bar itself was more than able to provide adequate entertainment for its patrons, Trailcutter was wanting to make the precious downtime that he spent with Artemis a bit more.

“I know that look. That’s the look of a mech that’s formulating a plan of some sort.”

Looking up at the femme, Trailcutter chuckled and nodded, taking another sip of his drink. He leaned on his elbows on the table, relaxing and letting his gaze flick over Artemis’s frame before answering.

“Yeah. Was just thinking that we don’t get a lot of these ‘date nights’, you know? Always something or someone that needs one or both of our attentions.” Trailcutter ventilated a short sigh. “Thought it might be nice to do something a little more than spend the whole evening in the bar.”

“Oh? Well, I’m certainly open to ideas,” Artemis stated. She then grinned and winked. “I trust your judgment.”

Laughing, Trailcutter took a long swig of his drink, watching as the waiter brought over Artemis’s drink. It was a shimmery sort, with flecks of a mixer that caught the bar’s dim lights and glinted in the dark blue high-grade. If anything, it kind of reminded Trailcutter of the stars in the vast night skies.

That was it.

Visibly perking up, the mech grinned widely and stood up from his chair, earning a questioning look from his date. He held out a hand, giving a quick motion of his helm to coax her along.

“Come on. I think I just thought of where we can go. Bring your drink.”

“Where are we going?”

“Aw, don’t make me spoil the surprise. Didn’t you just say you trusted my judgment?”

Giggling, Artemis took a quick sip of her drink before rising from her chair and taking Trailcutter’s hand. She followed the mech as he led them out of the bar and towards the lift that Artemis had mentioned earlier, quietly grateful that it appeared to still be functional. She smiled when the outlier made a sweeping gesture as the door to the lift opened, striding in with her drink in hand.

Following, Trailcutter pushed the button for the door to close and then the button to take the lift to the very top of the building. Noticing the questioning look that Artemis was giving him, he gave her a sidelong smile. He motioned to the control panel of the lift, making a pleased hum before speaking.

“The bar is nice and all, but I figure we could go somewhere with a better view,” the outlier explained.

“The top floor where they have storage?” Artemis asked, a hint of mild suspicion in her voice, even though she still wore a smile on her features.

“Just keep trusting my judgment. I think you’ll like what I’ve got in mind.”

It didn’t take long for them to get to the top floor, and the lift made a quiet ding as the door slid open. As expected, the top floor was abandoned and dark, with storage crates littered across the floor and pushed up against the wall. Artemis giggled and looked over at her date with a smirk and quirked helm ridge.

“You’re right. It’s a stunning view. The storage crates really do something for dusty floors.”

“You’re a riot,” Trailcutter chuckled, leading her towards a door that was off limits, but that the outlier knew to be typically left unlocked. “That’s not the view that I was talking about…”

With that, Trailcutter pushed the door open to reveal a large, abandoned landing pad...and the spectacular night sky that was above them. Starlight glimmered against a black-blue canvas, with the brighter gleam of stations and planets in the distance. He started to ask what Artemis thought of the view, but upon seeing her wide optics and awestruck smile, Trailcutter opted to stay quiet for the moment.

Almost dropping her drink, and catching herself at the last moment, Artemis stepped forward a few paces as she let her gaze drift across the vast skies. There was no denying that she was quite surprised to see how bright the stars were, particularly given how bright the lights were below them. And as she watched a ship lazily fade off into the dark distance, the femme felt a slightly wistful smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

It was only when Trailcutter shifted his weight and stepped towards her that Artemis snapped out of her gazing, and she turned to the mech. She grinned at him and took a sip of her drink before nodding in approval.

“You’re right. This view is way better.”

“Thought you might like it,” Trailcutter commented.

He then led Artemis a bit closer to the edge of the landing pad; not too close, but enough that they were comfortably away from the doorway and any remnant noise that might have filtered up from the floors below. Once they were at a better spot, the outlier sat down on the ground with a short grunt of effort. He looked up at Artemis and then patted the ground beside him, half-grin having not faded.

“Come on. You’ll probably be more comfortable if you sit down.”

Taking the invitation, Artemis sat down beside Trailcutter, mindful not to spill her drink as she did so. Once she was situated, she set the drink down at her side and leaned back on both her hands. Gazing back up at the skies, Artemis looked over the wide expanse of space that glimmered down back at them. A quiet, but sincere, laugh slipped from her and she tilted her helm a slight degree.

“It really is a beautiful view,” she commented again.

“Yeah, it is, huh?” Trailcutter replied...though his gaze was focused on Artemis.

Ventilating a sigh, the outlier then turned his gaze back to the skies. He was silently grateful for the fact that Artemis liked the view as much as he did. There was something about seeing her relaxed and content like this that made his spark feel a bit warmer. And while Trailcutter hadn’t mentioned that to anybody, it was still quite a comforting feeling and one that the outlier hadn’t felt before. ...not like this.

“How’d you find out about here?” Artemis asked.

Her question pulled Trailcutter out of his thoughts, and he took a brief moment to regain his composure, sneaking a quick swig of his drink as he did so. Making a short noise, Trailcutter motioned to the empty landing pad, giving an off-handed shrug.

“Overheard a couple of fliers griping that their normal landing spot had been closed off due to complaints about the noise,” he explained. “Thought I’d check it out just to see what there was to see and, well...figured it might make a better date night spot than sitting in a bar the whole time.”

A small smile playing on her features, Artemis nodded and let her gaze drift back up to the sky. Ventilating a short sigh of contentment, she made a soft laugh and relaxed back against her hands. Her drink was almost gone, but she had a pretty good inclination that she wouldn’t be leaving to get another. The view was too good, and the company...well, the company was even better.

“Well, I think I’ll take a few grumpy fliers for this sort of view,” she commented, an almost mischievous gleam in her optics.

Feigning complete surprise at the admission, Trailcutter finished his drink promptly before playfully nudging Artemis’s shoulder. The action caught her a little off guard, but she recovered her composure and looked back at the outlier, quirking a helm ridge in question.

“Artemis! I’m surprised at you,” Trailcutter continued to tease. “Making those poor fliers go the next building over to land.”

“They’re near a bar, anyways,” she argued with a giggle. “They don’t need to be flying anywhere if they’re overcharged. Besides, some of the patrons down below might be trying to have deep, thoughtful conversations.”

That was enough to earn a hearty laugh from Trailcutter, and he shook his helm as he worked to catch his ventilation. The sound of his laughter made Artemis both smile and blush, the femme looking away so that, hopefully, the mech wouldn’t see the tinge rising to her face. It was only when she felt Trailcutter’s hand lightly clasp over her own that Artemis turned back and realized that the mech had moved a bit closer to her.

While the action itself was more than welcome, it certainly didn’t help the fact that she was blushing.

“And here I thought you were a warrior for the people with pure, altruistic reasons,” he continued, though his voice was a little lower given their proximity.

“I’m not sure who you think you brought on a date, but if that’s what you think I am, we may have to start seeing other people.”

Chuckling, Trailcutter shook his helm quickly, before favoring Artemis with a more soft smile, his visor glowing a little dimmer, but warmer. He reached over with his free hand and hooked his index digit under Artemis’s chin, tilting her face up a slight degree.

“Hey now… I’ll have you know that I’m quite happy with who I’m with.” As if to emphasize his point, Trailcutter leaned down and placed a soft, quick kiss against Artemis’s faintly pursed lips. “You’re not getting rid of me any time soon.”

Calming from the gentle kiss, Artemis took the moment to scoot nearer to Trailcutter, leaning against his larger frame lightly. She didn’t resist when the mech pulled her a bit closer, wordlessly coaxing her to relax completely against him. Welcoming the invitation, the femme ventilated a quiet sigh as she did so, letting her gaze drift back up to the stars as Trailcutter wrapped an arm around her.

“I better not be. I’d like to have you sticking around for a long time, you know?”

“What a coincidence,” Trailcutter chuckled, looking back up to the sky as well, “I would like to stick around for a long time, too. Guess we’re in agreement, then.”

Making an exasperated smile, Artemis rolled her optics, but snuggled a bit closer against Trailcutter. The high-grade was warming her systems internally, and the mech’s presence was warming her plating...and her spark. She closed her optics for a brief moment, simply focusing on the feel of the cool winds and Trailcutter’s presence. If she let her thoughts drift just a bit further, Artemis swore she could feel the light of the stars above them flickering across her face.

“How many do you think we’ll get to see?”

Trailcutter’s voice pulling her out of her thoughts, Artemis blinked quickly to refocus her vision before looking over at the mech. Frowning in mild confusion, she tilted her helm to the side in a wordless question. Fortunately, Trailcutter had already been looking back at her expectantly for an answer, and a grin tugged at one corner of his mouth when he saw the confusion on the femme’s features.

“The stars,” he explained further, motioning towards the sky. “Or, at least, the planets that are closest to them? I’d like to think that you and I get to see more than just these stars that we’re looking at now. There can’t be that few stargazing spots in the galaxy.”

“Oh, um…” Frowning in thought, Artemis glanced away, but stayed close to Trailcutter. After a moment, she shrugged and looked back to him. “I suppose that all depends on where our missions take us.”

“That’s true,” the outlier agreed. He then sighed and looked back up to the skies, his hand remaining lightly clasped over Artemis’s. “I’d just like to think that...well, maybe that eventually it won’t be missions that are dictating where we get to do our stargazing or have our little date nights. That someday we’ll go somewhere because we _want_ to, and not because we have to.”

Pausing, Artemis stared ahead, not entirely sure how to answer. The thought of not having a mission to direct them wasn’t foreign, of course, but it wasn’t something that frequented her processor. Even so, it wasn’t an unwelcome thought, either.

After a bit more consideration, Artemis managed a quiet laugh before leaning back against Trailcutter. Her gaze drifted back up to the stars, and she cautiously let her thumb rub across the side of Trailcutter’s hand. She tried to imagine what it would be like; the freedom to simply travel as they wanted. It seemed both daunting and promising at the same time, and Artemis couldn’t deny the shiver of excitement that rippled through her systems.

“That...sounds really nice,” she admitted quietly.

“Yeah. I thought so, too.”

Silence fell over the two of them, with Trailcutter holding Artemis’s hand a little tighter as her thumb continued its soft, repeating path against the side of his hand. Both continued to look up at the skies, but their fields rippled in quiet contentment against each other. The outlier’s field more or less cradled the femme’s, curling around it and holding it close, as Artemis found her thoughts drifting further into the prospect of exploring the stars with Trailcutter at her side.

“I’ll even let you pick where we go first,” Trailcutter promised.

“Is that so?” Artemis asked, smiling faintly. She paused for a moment, then her smile took on a tone of mischievousness. “Well, so long as it doesn’t involve going through a storage closet to get to, first, I think that will work.”

Chuckling and giving Artemis a playful nudge with his shoulder, Trailcutter shook his helm and sighed in feigned exasperation.

“I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“Nope. When we’ve both grown so old our joints and processors can barely function, I’m still going to remember the fact that one of our date nights involved you taking me through a storage room.”

Turning to give Artemis an expression of mock hurt and pleading, though a grin played on his features unabashedly, Trailcutter tilted his helm to the side, visor glinting in the dim light.

“Aw, come on, Art. There’s nothing I can do to make it up to you?”

Turning to look up at Trailcutter, Artemis purposefully hesitated for a moment before smiling and shrugging.

“Hm...maybe, but you will have to get creative.”

Another chuckle purred from Trailcutter and he leaned down to kiss Artemis softly, this time letting the kiss linger before pulling back a small degree. Even so, when he spoke, his lips brushed against the femme’s ever so lightly.

“I think I can do that.”


End file.
